Sophie Banks: The Quiet Force Behind Britain’s Greatest Botanist

Sarah Sophia Banks

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 28, 1744 On this day in history, we celebrate Sarah Sophia “Sophie” Banks [BANKS], born today.  Sophie, as her family and friends referred to her, reminds us that behind every great gardener…

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October 25, 2024 Patrick Neill, Joseph Hetherington McDaniels, Tyge Wittrock Bocher, The Healing Garden by Juliet Blankespoor, and A Tale of Two Postmen Turned Accidental Alpine Plant Merchants

The Daily Gardener Podcast Album Cover with a pot of rosemary - the herb for remembrance - beckoning gardeners to remember to listen to the show. Updated September 2025.

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee  Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community Botanical History On This Day 1776 Patrick Neill, British printer and horticulturalist, is born. 1840 Joseph Hetherington McDaniels, Classical Scholar, is born.  1909 Tyge Wittrock Böcher [TEE-guh VIT-rock…

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The Secret Garden Life of Patrick Neill: Edinburgh’s Horticultural Hero

Patrick Neill (1776-1851) courtesy The Royal Society of Edinburgh.

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. October 25, 1776 It was on this day, dear listeners, that one of gardening’s most intriguing figures made his entrance into our world. Patrick Neill [PAT-rick NEEL] (October 25, 1776 – September 3,…

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From a Duke’s Gardens to Botanical Immortality: Thomas Hoy’s Legacy

Hoya Flower

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. May 1, 1822 On this day, the horticultural world bid farewell to Thomas Hoy, an English gardener, horticulturist, and botanist of considerable repute. Hoy’s life was a testament to the dedication and passion…

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The Eccentric’s Garden: William Beckford’s Horticultural Legacy

William Beckford from a drawing of his portrait (colorized and enhanced).

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 29, 1760 Today, we celebrate the birthday of William Beckford as we contemplate the complex legacy of his wealth – derived from the unconscionable enslavement of Jamaicans – which funded his passionate…

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The Garden Revolutionary: Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell’s Natural Legacy

Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell by Clemens Zimmermann after 1808

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. September 13, 1750 On this day, my dearest fellow gardening enthusiasts, we celebrate the birth of a true revolutionary in the art of landscape design – Friedrich Ludwig von Sckell. And what a…

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Leonard Mascall: Early Pioneer of Gardening Knowledge and Household Management

The title page and illustrations from "The Government of Cattle" by Leonard Mascall, a significant early veterinary manual published in 1662.

An Author of Household Management May 10, 1589 Today is the anniversary of the burial of the English author, translator, and Clerk to the Kitchen of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Leonard Mascall – who was buried at Buckinghamshire. Mascall published several books; all were aimed at household management. In 1572 Leonardpublished A Booke of the Arte…

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Robert More and the Delicate Moraea: A Rare Jewel of the Iris Family

Milla biflora, commonly known as Mexican Star.

The Morea January 5, 1780 Today is the anniversary of the death of the English academic, attorney, politician, and gardener, who sat in the House of Commons, Robert More. A passionate amateur botanist, the botanist Philip Miller, named the plant genus Morea (“Mor-AY-ah”) in honor of Robert More. But later, Carl Linnaeus altered the spelling…

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The Botanical King of Colorado: Charles Christopher Parry’s Mountain Legacy

Charles Christopher Parry thumbnail image

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 28, 1823 My dear green-thumbed companions, today marks the birthday of a most remarkable plantsman, the one and only Charles Christopher Parry, crowned the “King of Colorado Botany,” who graced this earth…

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Aimé Chile Bonpland: The Explorer Who Discovered Plants and Peppers

Aimé Bonpland thumbnail image

This botanical history post was featured on The Daily Gardener podcast: Click here to see the complete show notes for this episode. August 28, 1773 On this day, my precious petal-tenders and botanical confidantes, the remarkable French explorer and botanist Aimé Bonpland drew his first breath in this glorious world of ours in 1773. How…

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